Information management method

ABSTRACT

A server apparatus receives a device ID indicating one electrical home appliance among one or more electrical home appliances and a gateway ID indicating that the one electrical home appliance belongs to a same owner, a same group, or a same home as the one or more electrical home appliances, determines whether or not the one electrical home appliance is a newly connected electrical home appliance, using a management database that manages device IDs indicating the one or more electrical home appliances and the gateway ID, and when it is determined made that the one electrical home appliance is a newly connected electrical home appliance, provides an information device, which is associated with the gateway ID and which differs from the one electrical home appliance, with notification information for confirming whether or not it is to be permitted to collect the log information from the one electrical home appliance.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a method for managing information in aninformation management system that manages log information indicatingusage of one or more electrical devices.

BACKGROUND ART

In recent years, the number of electrical home appliances or AV (audiovisual) devices that can be connected to a network in the home haveincreased. Accordingly, systems are being evaluated which enable a cloudoperator to collect various types of log information including anoperation history of an electrical home appliance or an AV device viathe network. It is hoped that the collection of such log informationwill enable services that best match the lifestyle of a user to beprovided.

However, these systems are still under evaluation and require furtherimprovements to be practically viable.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent No. 4757900

Patent Literature 2: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application PublicationNo. 2006-25259

Patent Literature 3: Japanese Patent No. 4309087

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The present invention has been made in order to solve the problemdescribed above and an object thereof is to provide a method forconfirming with a user as to whether or not it is permitted to collectlog information from an electrical device, regardless of whether or notthe electrical device has a display or regardless of a size of a displayincluded in the electrical device.

A method according to an aspect of the present invention is used formanaging information in an information management system that manageslog information indicating a usage state of one or more electricaldevices, the method including: receiving via a first network a device IDindicating one electrical device among the one or more electricaldevices and an attribute ID indicating that the one electrical devicebelongs to a same owner, a same group, or a same home as the one or moreelectrical devices; determining whether or not the one electrical deviceis newly connected to the information management system, using a firstdatabase that manages device IDs indicating the one or more electricaldevices and attribute IDs associated with the device IDs; and when it isdetermined that the one electrical device is newly connected to theinformation management system, providing via a second network aninformation display apparatus, which is associated with the attribute IDand which differs from the one electrical device, with notificationinformation for confirming whether or not it is permitted to collect thelog information from the one electrical device.

According to the aspect of the present invention, whether or not it isto be permitted to collect the log information from the electricaldevice can be confirmed with a user regardless of whether or not theelectrical device has a display or regardless of a size of a displayincluded in the electrical device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a diagram showing an overview of service provided by aninformation management system according to a present embodiment, FIG. 1Bis a diagram showing an example where a device manufacturer correspondsto a data center operating company, and FIG. 1C is a diagram showing anexample where both or one of a device manufacturer and a managementcompany correspond to a data center operating company.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of an information managementsystem according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a server apparatusaccording to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of an electrical homeappliance according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of a gateway according tothe first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of an information deviceaccording to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of management informationaccording to the first embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of address information accordingto the first embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of management informationincluding a provision status of log information according to the firstembodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of notification informationaccording to the first embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing another example of notification informationaccording to the first embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of an updating process ofmanagement information retained by a server apparatus according to thefirst embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a device ID according to thefirst embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a gateway ID according to thefirst embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a first flow chart for describing an operation by theinformation management system according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 16 is a second flow chart for describing an operation by theinformation management system according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 17 is a third flow chart for describing an operation by theinformation management system according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 18 is a flow chart for describing an operation of a notificationinformation transmitting process in step S9 in FIG. 16 and in step S17in FIG. 17.

FIG. 19 is a flow chart for describing another operation of thenotification information transmitting process in step S9 in FIG. 16 andin step S17 in FIG. 17.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a configuration of a server apparatusaccording to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a configuration of an electrical homeappliance according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a diagram for describing a selecting process of loginformation according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 23 is a flow chart for describing an operation by an informationmanagement system according to the second embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing a configuration of an electrical homeappliance according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing an example of filtering informationaccording to the third embodiment.

FIG. 26 is a flow chart for describing an operation by an informationmanagement system according to the third embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 27 is a diagram for describing an updating process of loginformation according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 28 is a diagram showing a configuration of a gateway according to afourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 29 is a diagram showing an example of management informationaccording to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 30 is a first flow chart for describing an operation by aninformation management system according to the fourth embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 31 is a second flow chart for describing an operation by theinformation management system according to the fourth embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 32 is a flow chart for describing an operation of a notificationinformation transmitting process in step S81 in FIG. 31.

FIG. 33 is a flow chart for describing another operation of thenotification information transmitting process in step S81 in FIG. 31.

FIG. 34 is a diagram showing a configuration of an informationmanagement system according to a fifth embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 35 is a diagram showing a configuration of a server apparatusaccording to the fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 36 is a diagram showing a configuration of an electrical homeappliance according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 37 is a diagram showing an example of management informationaccording to the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 38 is a first flow chart for describing an operation by theinformation management system according to the fifth embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 39 is a second flow chart for describing an operation by theinformation management system according to the fifth embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 40 is a flow chart for describing an operation of a notificationinformation transmitting process in step S117 in FIG. 39.

FIG. 41 is a flow chart for describing another operation of thenotification information transmitting process in step S117 in FIG. 39.

FIG. 42 is a diagram showing an overview of a service that is providedby an information management system of service type 1 (proprietary datacenter type cloud service).

FIG. 43 is a diagram showing an overview of a service that is providedby an information management system of service type 2 (cloud serviceusing IaaS).

FIG. 44 is a diagram showing an overview of a service that is providedby an information management system of service type 3 (cloud serviceusing PaaS).

FIG. 45 is a diagram showing an overview of a service that is providedby an information management system of service type 4 (cloud serviceusing SaaS).

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Various types of log information that are collected by a cloud operatorfrom electrical home appliances or AV devices via a network areinformation related to privacy of users and cannot be collected withoutthe users' knowledge. Therefore, permission must be individuallyobtained from the users in order to collect log information. In suchcases, there are users who wish to set whether or not log information isto be provided for each electrical home appliance such as a user whodoes not mind providing log information of a refrigerator to a cloudoperator but does not want to provide log information of a television tothe cloud operator. Therefore, permission with respect to whether loginformation is to be collected or not is conceivably required for eachelectrical home appliance.

On the other hand, using the system is a hassle for a user since whetheror not log information is to be provided must be actively set for eachof a plurality of electrical home appliances which are owned by the userand which are connected to the network. In addition, obtainingpermission to collect log information related to privacy requiresnotifying disclaimers, contract terms and conditions, or the like to theuser. Among electrical home appliances, it is difficult to displaydisclaimers, contract terms and conditions, or the like on electricalhome appliances such as a washing machine and a refrigerator which arenot equipped with displays or electrical home appliances which are onlyequipped with simplified displays and, as a result, it is difficult toaccept some kind of setting based on image display. Therefore, the usercannot directly set whether or not log information is to be provided forelectrical home appliances which are not equipped with displays orelectrical home appliances which are only equipped with simplifieddisplays.

In order to solve such problems, the present inventors have arrived atthe invention according to the aspects described below.

A method according to an aspect of the present invention is used formanaging information in an information management system that manageslog information indicating usage of one or more electrical devices, themethod including: receiving via a first network a device ID indicatingone electrical device among the one or more electrical devices and anattribute ID indicating that the one electrical device belongs to a sameowner, a same group, or a same home as the one or more electricaldevices; determining whether or not the one electrical device is newlyconnected to the information management system, using a first databasethat manages device IDs indicating the one or more electrical devicesand attribute IDs associated with the device IDs; and when it isdetermined that the one electrical device is a newly connected to theinformation management system, providing via a second network aninformation display apparatus, which is associated with the attribute IDand which differs from the one electrical device, with notificationinformation for confirming whether or not it is to be permitted tocollect the log information from the one electrical device.

According to this configuration, when one electrical device for whichpermission regarding whether or not log information is to be collectedhas not been obtained is newly installed, notification information forconfirming whether or not collection of log information of the oneelectrical device is to be permitted is provided to an informationdisplay apparatus that differs from the one electrical device. In otherwords, notification information for confirming whether or not collectionof log information of the one electrical device is to be permitted isprovided, not to the one electrical device from which log information isto be actually collected, but to an information display apparatus thatdiffers from the one electrical device. As a result, whether or notcollection of log information of an electrical device is to be permittedcan be confirmed with a user regardless of whether or not the electricaldevice has a display or regardless of a size of a display included inthe electrical device.

In addition, the user need not actively set whether or not collection oflog information of a newly installed electrical device is to bepermitted and can complete settings with respect to the collection oflog information by simply responding to notification information that isprovided to the user. Therefore, the user can determine whether or notlog information of an electrical device is to be provided in accordancewith notification information and, at the same time, readily set whetheror not log information of an electrical device is to be provided.

Furthermore, in the aspect described above, favorably, the device ID andthe attribute ID are received from a gateway connected to the oneelectrical device via the first network, and when it is determined thatthe one electrical device is newly connected to the informationmanagement system, the notification information is provided via thesecond network to the information display apparatus associated with theattribute ID of the one electrical device, using a second database thatmanages the attribute ID and the associated information displayapparatus.

According to this configuration, a device ID and an attribute ID arereceived from a gateway connected to the one electrical device via thefirst network. When it is determined that the one electrical device isnewly connected to the information management system, the notificationinformation is provided via the second network to the informationdisplay apparatus associated with the attribute ID of the one electricaldevice using a second database that manages the attribute ID and theassociated information display apparatus.

Therefore, since a device ID and an attribute ID are received from agateway connected to the one electrical device, even when the device IDand the attribute ID cannot be directly acquired from the one electricaldevice, the device ID and the attribute ID can be acquired via thegateway connected to the one electrical device.

In addition, in the aspect described above, favorably, the device IDindicating the one electrical device and an attribute ID indicating thatthe one electrical device belongs to the same owner, the same group, orthe same home as the one or more electrical devices are received from agateway connected to the one electrical device via the first network,the notification information is transmitted to the gateway via thesecond network when it is determined that the one electrical device isnewly connected to the information management system, and thenotification information is provided via the gateway to the informationdisplay apparatus based on a device ID that indicates the informationdisplay apparatus and is managed by the gateway.

According to this configuration, since the notification information isprovided via the gateway to the information display apparatus based on adevice ID indicating the information display apparatus, the device ID ismanaged by the gateway, even when the notification information cannot bedirectly transmitted to the information display apparatus, thenotification information can be transmitted to the information displayapparatus via the gateway that is connected to the information displayapparatus.

Furthermore, in the aspect described above, favorably, permissioninformation for permitting collection of log information from the oneelectrical device is received via the second network from theinformation display apparatus in response to the notificationinformation, whether or not the log information of the one electricaldevice is to be collected is set to the gateway via the first network,based on the permission information, and the log information of the oneelectrical device based on the setting content is received from thegateway via the first network.

According to this configuration, permission information for permittingcollection of log information of the one electrical home appliance isreceived via the second network from the information display apparatusin response to the notification information. Whether or not the loginformation of the one electrical device is to be collected is set withrespect to the gateway via the first network based on the permissioninformation. The log information of the one electrical device that istransmitted by the gateway based on the setting content is received viathe first network.

Therefore, since whether or not the log information of the oneelectrical device is to be collected is set with respect to the gatewayvia the first network based on the permission information, adetermination of whether or not log information is to be provided neednot be made by the electrical device and the configuration of theelectrical device can be simplified.

In addition, in the aspect described above, favorably, the device ID andthe attribute ID are received from the one electrical device via thefirst network, and when it is determined that the one electrical deviceis newly connected to the information management system, thenotification information is provided via the second network to theinformation display apparatus associated with the attribute ID of theone electrical device using a second database that manages the attributeID and the associated information display apparatus.

According to this configuration, since the device ID and the attributeID are received from the one electrical device and the notificationinformation is provided to the information display apparatus associatedwith the attribute ID of the one electrical device, the device ID andthe attribute ID can be directly received from the one electrical devicewithout involving the gateway and, at the same time, the notificationinformation can be directly provided to the information displayapparatus.

Furthermore, in the aspect described above, favorably, a plurality ofinformation display apparatuses include the information displayapparatus, a power supply state indicating whether a power supply is inan on state or an off state is acquired from the plurality ofinformation display apparatuses via the first network, an informationdisplay apparatus whose power supply is in an on state among theplurality of information display apparatuses is identified based on theacquired power supply state, and the notification information isprovided to the identified information display apparatus.

According to this configuration, since the notification information isprovided to an information display apparatus whose power supply is in anon state among the plurality of information display apparatuses, thenotification information can be immediately presented to the user whenthe information display apparatus acquires the notification information.

In addition, in the aspect described above, favorably, a plurality ofinformation display apparatuses include the information displayapparatus, a power supply state indicating whether a power supply is inan on state or an off state and an operation status indicating whetheror not an operation is in progress are acquired from the plurality ofinformation display apparatuses via the first network, an informationdisplay apparatus whose power supply is in an on state and which is inoperation among the plurality of information display apparatuses isidentified based on the acquired power supply state and operationstatus, and the notification information is provided to the identifiedinformation display apparatus.

According to this configuration, since the notification information isprovided to an information display apparatus whose power supply is in anon state and which is being operated among the plurality of informationdisplay apparatuses, the notification information can be immediatelypresented to the user when the information display apparatus acquiresthe notification information.

Furthermore, in the aspect described above, favorably, a plurality ofinformation display apparatuses include the information displayapparatus, and the notification information is provided to all of theplurality of information display apparatuses.

Since the notification information is provided to all of the pluralityof information display apparatuses, the user can confirm thenotification information using any of the plurality of informationdisplay apparatuses.

In addition, in the aspect described above, favorably, the notificationinformation for confirming whether or not it is to be permitted tocollect the log information from another electrical device among the oneor more electrical devices, it being not permitted to collect at least apart of the log information from the other electrical device is providedto the information display apparatus.

According to this configuration, the notification information forconfirming whether or not collection of the log information is to bepermitted for another electrical device for which collection of at leasta part of the log information is not permitted among the one or moreelectrical devices is provided to the information display apparatus.

Therefore, since confirmation is obtained on whether or not collectionof the log information is to be permitted for another electrical devicefor which collection of at least a part of the log information is notpermitted among the one or more electrical devices, confirmation onwhether or not collection of the log information is to be permitted canbe obtained once again with respect to the other electrical device forwhich collection of at least a part of the log information is notpermitted.

Furthermore, in the aspect described above, favorably, transmission ofthe log information to the one electrical device is to be permitted whenit is permitted to collect the log information of the one electricaldevice, based on the notification information.

According to this configuration, since transmission of the loginformation to the one electrical device is to be permitted whencollection of the log information of the one electrical device ispermitted, the log information can be collected from the one electricaldevice.

In addition, in the aspect described above, favorably, the oneelectrical device does not include a display.

According to this configuration, whether or not log information is to becollected can be set with respect to an electrical device that does notinclude a display.

Furthermore, in the aspect described above, favorably, permissioninformation for permitting collection of the log information from theone electrical device is received from the information display apparatusvia the second network, in response to the notification information, andthe log information of the one electrical device is collected via thefirst network based on the permission information.

According to this configuration, permission information for permittingcollection of log information of the one electrical device is receivedvia the second network from the information display apparatus inresponse to the notification information. The log information of the oneelectrical device is collected via the first network based on thepermission information.

Therefore, the log information can be directly collected from the oneelectrical device.

In addition, in the aspect described above, favorably, permissioninformation for permitting collection of the log information from theone electrical device is received from the information display apparatusvia the second network, in response to the notification information,whether or not the log information of the one electrical device is to becollected is set to the one electrical device via the first networkinformation indicating, based on the permission information, and the loginformation of the one electrical device, based on the setting contentis received from the one electrical device via the first network.

According to this configuration, permission information for permittingcollection of log information of the one electrical device is receivedvia the second network from the information display apparatus inresponse to the notification information. Whether or not the loginformation of the one electrical device is to be collected is set withrespect to the one electrical device via the first network based on thepermission information. The log information of the one electrical devicethat is transmitted by the one electrical device based on the settingcontent is received via the first network.

Therefore, since whether or not the log information of the oneelectrical device is to be collected is set with respect to the oneelectrical device, the one electrical device can transmit only loginformation for which collection is permitted and can reduce the amountof log information to be transmitted.

Furthermore, in the aspect described above, favorably, the first networkis a same network as the second network.

According to this configuration, since the first network that receives adevice ID and an attribute ID and the second network that transmitsnotification information are the same network, a transmission path fortransmitting information can be simplified.

All of the embodiments described below represent specific examples ofthe present invention. Numerical values, shapes, components, steps, andorders of steps described in the following embodiments are merelyexamples and are not intended to limit the present invention. Inaddition, components not described in independent claims representinghighest concepts among the components of the following embodiments areto be described as arbitrary components. Furthermore, respectivecontents of all embodiments can be combined with one another.

(Overview of Service to be Provided)

First, an overview of service provided by an information managementsystem according to a present embodiment will be described.

FIG. 1A is a diagram showing an overview of service provided by theinformation management system according to the present embodiment, FIG.1B is a diagram showing an example where a device manufacturercorresponds to a data center operating company, and FIG. 1C is a diagramshowing an example where both or one of a device manufacturer and amanagement company correspond to a data center operating company. Theinformation management system includes a group 1000, a data centeroperating company 1010, and a service provider 1020.

The group 1000 is, for example, a corporation, an organization, and ahome and may be of any size. The group 1000 includes a plurality ofdevices 1001 including a first device and a second device as well as ahome gateway 1002. The plurality of devices 1001 include devices capableof connecting to the Internet (for example, a smartphone, a personalcomputer (PC), and a television) as well as devices incapable ofconnecting to the Internet by themselves (for example, a lightingfixture, a washing machine, and a refrigerator). The plurality ofdevices 1001 may include devices that become capable of connecting tothe Internet via the home gateway 1002 even though the devices areincapable of connecting to the Internet by themselves. In addition, auser 10 uses the plurality of devices 1001 in the group 1000.

The data center operating company 1010 includes a cloud server 1011. Thecloud server 1011 is a virtual server that links with various devicesvia the Internet. The cloud server 1011 mainly manages huge data (bigdata) and the like which are difficult to handle using ordinary databasemanagement tools or the like. The data center operating company 1010manages data, manages the cloud server 1011, and operates a data centerthat carries out such management. Details of services provided by thedata center operating company 1010 will be described later.

In this case, the data center operating company 1010 is not limited tocompanies that only manage data or only manage the cloud server 1011.For example, as shown in FIG. 1B, when a device manufacturer responsiblefor developing or manufacturing one device among the plurality ofdevices 1001 also manages data or manages the cloud server 1011, thedevice manufacturer corresponds to the data center operating company1010. In addition, the data center operating company 1010 is not limitedto one company. For example, as shown in FIG. 1C, when a devicemanufacturer and a management company manage data or manage the cloudserver 1011 in cooperation or in a shared manner, both of or one of thedevice manufacturer and the management company correspond to the datacenter operating company 1010.

The service provider 1020 includes a server 1021. The server 1021 asreferred to herein may be of any scale and includes, for example, amemory in a personal PC. In addition, there may be cases where theservice provider 1020 does not include the server 1021.

Moreover, in the information management system described above, the homegateway 1002 is not essential. For example, the home gateway 1002 isunnecessary in a case where the cloud server 1011 performs all datamanagement. In addition, there may be cases where there are no devicesthat are incapable of connecting to the Internet by themselves such aswhen all devices in the home are connected to the Internet.

Next, a flow of information in the information management system will bedescribed.

First, the first device or the second device in the group 1000 transmitsrespective pieces of log information to the cloud server 1011 of thedata center operating company 1010. The cloud server 1011 accumulateslog information of the first device or the second device (an arrow 131in FIG. 1A). In this case, log information is information indicating anoperation state, an operation date/time, or the like of the plurality ofdevices 1001. For example, while log information includes a viewinghistory of a television set, video recording reservation information ofa recorder, an operation date/time of a washing machine, an amount oflaundry, an opening/closing time/date of a refrigerator, the number oftimes a refrigerator had been opened/closed, or the like, loginformation is not limited to these types of information and may includevarious types of information that can be acquired from various types ofdevices. Moreover, the log information may be directly provided by theplurality of devices 1001 themselves to the cloud server 1011 via theInternet. In addition, the log information may be temporarilyaccumulated by the home gateway 1002 from the plurality of devices 1001and provided to the cloud server 1011 by the home gateway 1002.

Next, the cloud server 1011 of the data center operating company 1010provides the accumulated log information to the service provider 1020 infixed units. In this case, the fixed unit may be a unit that can beprovided by the data center operating company 1010 to the serviceprovider 1020 by organizing accumulated information or a unit that isrequested by the service provider 1020. In addition, while informationis to be provided in fixed units as described above, information neednot necessarily be provided in fixed units and an amount of informationto be provided may vary according to circumstances. When necessary, thelog information is stored in a server 1021 owned by the service provider1020 (an arrow 132 in FIG. 1A).

Subsequently, the service provider 1020 organizes the log informationinto information matching the service to be provided to the user andprovides the organized information to the user. The user to which theinformation is provided may be the user 10 of the plurality of devices1001 or an outside user 20. As for a method of providing information tothe users 10 and 20, for example, the information may be directlyprovided to the users 10 and 20 by the service provider 1020 (arrows 133and 134 in FIG. 1A). In addition, as for a method of providinginformation to the user 10, for example, the information may be directlyprovided to the user 10 once again via the cloud server 1011 of the datacenter operating company 1010 (arrows 135 and 136 in FIG. 1A).Furthermore, the cloud server 1011 of the data center operating company1010 may organize the log information into information matching theservice to be provided to the user and provide the organized informationto the service provider 1020.

Moreover, the user 10 may differ from the user 20 or may be the same asthe user 20.

First Embodiment

1.1 Configuration of Information Management System

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of an information managementsystem according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Asshown in FIG. 2, the information management system includes a serverapparatus 101, an electrical home appliance 102, a gateway 103, and aninformation device 104. The information management system manages loginformation indicating usage of one or more electrical devices.

In FIG. 2, the electrical home appliance 102, the gateway 103, and theinformation device 104 are positioned in the home. The gateway 103 isconnected to the server apparatus 101 via a network such as theInternet.

The electrical home appliance 102 is, for example, an air conditioner,an AV device such as a television set, a washing machine, anillumination device, an electronic shutter, an intercom, or the like.Moreover, the electrical home appliance 102 may be any kind ofelectrical appliance which is used in the home and which is capable ofcollecting log information such as residential equipment, a sensor formeasuring and sensing residential environment, and an electric vehicle.

The electrical home appliance 102 is connected to the server apparatus101 via the gateway 103. The electrical home appliance 102 transmits IDinformation (a device ID) that enables each electrical home appliance102 to be uniquely identified or log information to the server apparatus101.

In addition, when a new electrical home appliance 102 is connected tothe gateway 103, the server apparatus 101 presents a message confirmingwhether or not provision (transmission) of log information of the newelectrical home appliance 102 is to be permitted to the informationdevice 104 owned by the user of the new electrical home appliance 102and receives a confirmation result by the user. When provision of loginformation is permitted, the new electrical home appliance 102 providesID information and log information to the server apparatus 101. Theserver apparatus 101 stores and manages log information using a manageddatabase (a management database).

The information device 104 is a smartphone, a mobile phone, a tabletcomputer, or the like. The information device 104 includes a displaycapable of displaying various types of information. The informationdevice 104 is connected to the server apparatus 101 via a network suchas the Internet.

1.2 Configuration of Server Apparatus 101

Next, a detailed configuration of the server apparatus 101 according tothe first embodiment will be described.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a server apparatusaccording to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown inFIG. 3, the server apparatus 101 includes a transmitting/receiving unit201, a management information retaining unit 202, a notificationinformation retaining unit 203, a determining unit 204, an updating unit205, a selecting unit 206, and a control unit 207.

The server apparatus 101 includes a microprocessor, a RAM (random accessmemory), a ROM (read only memory), a hard disk, and the like which arenot specifically illustrated. The RAM, the ROM, and the hard disk storea computer program. As the microprocessor operates according to thecomputer program, functions of the server apparatus 101 are realized.

Moreover, the respective functional blocks of the server apparatus 101including the transmitting/receiving unit 201, the managementinformation retaining unit 202, the notification information retainingunit 203, the determining unit 204, the updating unit 205, the selectingunit 206, and the control unit 207 may be realized by an LSI (LargeScale Integration) that is typically an integrated circuit. Therespective functional blocks may be individually configured as singlechips. Alternatively, one or more functional blocks or a part of afunctional block may constitute a single chip.

While the term LSI has been used herein, other terms such as an IC(Integrated Circuit), a system LSI, a super LSI, or an ultra LSI may beused depending on varying degrees of integration.

In addition, a method of circuit integration is not limited to an LSIand may be realized using a dedicated circuit or a general-purposeprocessor. An FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) that can beprogrammed after LSI production or a reconfigurable processor thatallows connection or reconfiguration of circuit cells inside an LSIafter LSI production may also be used.

Moreover, if techniques for realizing integrated circuits to replaceLSIs should emerge due to progress made in semiconductor technology ordue to derivative technology, it is obvious that the functional blocksmay be integrated using such techniques. Examples of circuit integrationtechnology which may possibly replace LSIs include an adaptation ofbiotechnology.

Finally, each functional block may be realized by software or by acombination of an LSI and software. In addition, the software may betamper resistant.

(1) Transmitting/Receiving Unit 201

The transmitting/receiving unit 201 receives a gateway ID, a device ID,and user input information accepted by the electrical home appliance 102from the gateway 103. A gateway ID is an identifier that enables agateway to be uniquely identified. A device ID is an identifier thatenables an electrical home appliance to be uniquely identified.

In addition, the transmitting/receiving unit 201 transmits notificationinformation that is retained by the notification information retainingunit 203 to the information device 104. Notification information is, forexample, a message to the user in order to obtain permission forprovision or collection of log information of the electrical homeappliance 102. User input information is, for example, responseinformation (permission information) indicating whether or not the userpermits collection of log information.

The transmitting/receiving unit 201 receives, via the first network, adevice ID indicating one electrical device among one or more electricaldevices (electrical home appliances 102) and an attribute ID (a gatewayID) indicating that the one electrical device belongs to a same owner, asame group, or a same home as the one or more electrical devices. Thetransmitting/receiving unit 201 receives the device ID and the attributeID (the gateway ID) from the gateway 103 connected to the one electricaldevice via the first network.

(2) Management Information Retaining Unit 202

The management information retaining unit 202 retains and managesmanagement information such as an association between the gateway ID ofthe gateway 103 and the device ID of the electrical home appliance 102,whether or not the electrical home appliance 102 has a display, whetheror not the electrical home appliance 102 is providing log information,and whether or not the current power supply state of the electrical homeappliance 102 is an on state.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of management informationaccording to the first embodiment. In the example shown in FIG. 7, anelectrical home appliance corresponding to a device ID “123456”(hereinafter referred to as an electrical home appliance A) and anelectrical home appliance corresponding to a device ID “896023”(hereinafter referred to as an electrical home appliance B) areconnected to a gateway corresponding to a gateway ID “32456389”. It isshown that the electrical home appliance A does not have a display,provides log information (has permitted provision of log information),and a current power supply state is an on state. It is also shown thatthe electrical home appliance B has a display, provides log information(has permitted provision of log information), and a current power supplystate is an on state.

In this manner, the management information associates a gateway ID and adevice ID with each other and, at the same time, associates whether ornot a display is included, whether or not log information is to beprovided, and whether or not a power supply state is an on state witheach electrical home appliance ID.

In addition, the management information retaining unit 202 retains andmanages address information for transmitting notification informationthat is retained by the notification information retaining unit 203.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of address information accordingto the first embodiment. The example in FIG. 8 shows that an emailaddress “abcdefg@jp.aaa.com” is associated and managed as addressinformation of an electrical home appliance corresponding to a device ID“01429” and an IP (Internet Protocol) address “173.168.52.14” isassociated and managed as address information of an electrical homeappliance corresponding to the device ID “896023”. In this manner,address information includes an email address or an IP address of theelectrical home appliance 102 or the information device 104 that is atransmission destination of the notification information.

Furthermore, in addition to an association between a gateway ID and adevice ID, whether or not the electrical home appliance 102 has adisplay, whether or not the electrical home appliance 102 is providinglog information, and whether or not the current power supply state ofthe electrical home appliance 102 is an on state, the managementinformation retaining unit 202 also retains and manages a provisionstatus of log information as management information.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of management informationincluding a provision status of log information according to the firstembodiment.

The example in FIG. 9 shows that an electrical home appliancecorresponding to a device ID “123456” does not have a display, provideslog information (permits provision of log information), a current powersupply state is an on state, and permits provision of all loginformation.

On the other hand, it is shown that the electrical home appliancecorresponding to a device ID “896023” has a display, provides loginformation (permits provision of log information), a current powersupply state is an on state, and only permits provision of loginformation related to turning on/off the power supply among theplurality of types of log information.

For example, when the electrical home appliance is a television set, loginformation includes a date/time when power had been turned on, a numberof a selected channel, a date/time when power had been turned off, andthe like. The example in FIG. 9 shows that, while provision of thedate/time when power had been turned on/off is permitted, provision ofthe number of a selected channel is not permitted.

(3) Notification Information Retaining Unit 203

The notification information retaining unit 203 retains notificationinformation to be transmitted to the electrical home appliance 102 orthe information device 104 via the gateway 103.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of notification informationaccording to the first embodiment. The example in FIG. 10 shows amessage for confirming with the user whether or not collection of loginformation of a new washing machine is to be permitted when the washingmachine is connected to a network.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing another example of notification informationaccording to the first embodiment. The example in FIG. 11 shows amessage for obtaining permission from the user for provision(collection) of further log information of an electrical home appliancein a case where the electrical home appliance has already permittedprovision (collection) of log information but the permission onlyapplies to a part of the log information.

Moreover, the management information retaining unit 202 and thenotification information retaining unit 203 may be the same database ormay be different databases.

(4) Determining Unit 204

The determining unit 204 determines whether or not an electrical homeappliance corresponding to the device ID received by thetransmitting/receiving unit 201 is a newly connected device based on thegateway ID and the device ID received by the transmitting/receiving unit201 and the management information retained by the managementinformation retaining unit 202.

For example, when the gateway ID “32456389” and the device ID “896023”are received by the transmitting/receiving unit 201, the determiningunit 204 collates the received gateway ID and device ID with themanagement information shown in FIG. 7 and determines whether or not thereceived gateway ID and device ID already exist in the managementinformation. In this example, since the IDs already exist in themanagement information, the determining unit 204 makes a determinationthat the electrical home appliance is not a newly connected electricalhome appliance.

In addition, the determining unit 204 determines whether or not there isan electrical home appliance having a display or an information devicebased on the gateway ID received by the transmitting/receiving unit 201and the management information retained by the management informationretaining unit 202.

For example, when the gateway ID “32456389” is received, the determiningunit 204 collates the received gateway ID with the managementinformation shown in FIG. 7 and determines whether or not there is adevice having a display among the plurality of devices associated withthe received gateway ID. In this example, since the device representedby the device ID “896023” has a display, the determining unit 204determines that there is a device having a display.

The determining unit 204 determines whether or not one electrical device(the electrical home appliance 102) is a newly connected electricaldevice using a first database (the management information retaining unit202) that manages device IDs indicating one or more electrical devices(electrical home appliances) and attribute IDs (gateway IDs). When it isdetermined that the one electrical device is a newly connectedelectrical device, the transmitting/receiving unit 201 providesnotification information for confirming whether or not collection of loginformation of the one electrical device is to be permitted to aninformation display apparatus which is associated with the attribute ID(the gateway ID) and which differs from the one electrical device viathe second network.

Moreover, the information display apparatus may be another electricaldevice among the one or more electrical devices which differs from theone electrical device and which has a display. Favorably, the otherelectrical device is, for example, an electrical home appliance such asa television set. Alternatively, the information display apparatus maybe the information device 104.

Furthermore, when the information display apparatus is the informationdevice 104, for example, a size of the display included in theinformation display apparatus is favorably 3 inches to 7 inches and aresolution of the display included in the information display apparatusis favorably 480 by 320, 960 by 640, 1136 by 640, or the like.

In addition, when it is determined that the one electrical device is anewly connected electrical device, the transmitting/receiving unit 201provides the notification information via the second network to aninformation display apparatus corresponding to the attribute ID of theone electrical device using a second database (the managementinformation retaining unit 202) that manages the attribute ID (thegateway ID) and the information display apparatus in association witheach other.

(5) Updating Unit 205

The updating unit 205 updates management information retained by themanagement information retaining unit 202 when the determining unit 204determines that the electrical home appliance corresponding to thedevice ID received by the transmitting/receiving unit 201 is a newlyconnected electrical home appliance.

In addition, the updating unit 205 updates management informationretained by the management information retaining unit 202 in accordancewith user input information that is received by thetransmitting/receiving unit 201.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of an updating process ofmanagement information retained by a server apparatus according to thefirst embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 12, an upper tablerepresents management information before update and a lower tablerepresents management information after update. For example, in a casewhere the transmitting/receiving unit 201 receives information regardingan electrical home appliance whose device ID is “654920” and which does“not include a display”, the determining unit 204 determines that theelectrical home appliance is a newly connected electrical homeappliance, and when the transmitting/receiving unit 201 further receivesinformation permitting collection of log information, the updating unit205 updates the management information as shown in FIG. 12. Furthermore,the updating unit 205 also reflects whether or not a power supply stateof the newly connected electrical home appliance is an on state on themanagement information. The example in FIG. 12 shows that the currentpower supply state of the newly connected electrical home appliance isan on state.

(6) Selecting Unit 206

When the determining unit 204 determines that there is an electricalhome appliance having a display or an information device, based on thegateway ID received by the transmitting/receiving unit 201 and themanagement information retained by the management information retainingunit 202, the selecting unit 206 selects all electrical home appliancesand information devices which correspond to the gateway ID and whichhave a display.

Alternatively, when the determining unit 204 determines that there is anelectrical home appliance having a display or an information device,based on the gateway ID received by the transmitting/receiving unit 201and the management information retained by the management informationretaining unit 202, the selecting unit 206 may select all electricalhome appliances and information devices whose current power supply stateis an on state among electrical home appliances and information deviceswhich correspond to the gateway ID and which have a display.

(7) Control Unit 207

The control unit 207 realizes functions of the server apparatus 101 bymanaging and controlling the transmitting/receiving unit 201, themanagement information retaining unit 202, the notification informationretaining unit 203, the determining unit 204, the updating unit 205, andthe selecting unit 206 described above.

1.3 Configuration of Electrical Home Appliance 102

Next, a detailed configuration of the electrical home appliance 102according to the first embodiment will be described.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of an electrical homeappliance according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Asshown in FIG. 4, the electrical home appliance 102 includes atransmitting/receiving unit 301, a device ID retaining unit 302, anetwork connection sensing unit 303, and a control unit 304.

The electrical home appliance 102 includes a microprocessor, a RAM, aROM, a hard disk, and the like which are not specifically illustrated.The RAM, the ROM, and the hard disk store a computer program. As themicroprocessor operates according to the computer program, functions ofthe electrical home appliance 102 are realized.

Moreover, the respective functional blocks of the transmitting/receivingunit 301, the device ID retaining unit 302, the network connectionsensing unit 303, and the control unit 304 may be realized by an LSIthat is typically an integrated circuit. The respective functionalblocks may be individually configured as single chips. Alternatively,one or more functional blocks or a part of a functional block mayconstitute a single chip.

While the term LSI has been used herein, other terms such as an IC, asystem LSI, a super LSI, or an ultra LSI may be used depending onvarying degrees of integration.

In addition, a method of circuit integration is not limited to an LSIand may be realized using a dedicated circuit or a general-purposeprocessor. An FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) that can beprogrammed after LSI production or a reconfigurable processor thatallows connection or reconfiguration of circuit cells inside an LSIafter LSI production may also be used.

Moreover, if techniques for realizing integrated circuits to replaceLSIs should emerge due to progress made in semiconductor technology ordue to derivative technology, it is obvious that the functional blocksmay be integrated using such techniques. Examples of circuit integrationtechnology which may possibly replace LSIs include an adaptation ofbiotechnology.

Finally, each functional block may be realized by software or by acombination of an LSI and software. In addition, the software may betamper resistant.

(1) Transmitting/Receiving Unit 301

The transmitting/receiving unit 301 transmits the device ID retained bythe device ID retaining unit 302 to the gateway 103.

(2) Device ID Retaining Unit 302

The device ID retaining unit 302 retains an identifier (a device ID) foruniquely identifying an electrical home appliance.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a device ID according to thefirst embodiment. In the example shown in FIG. 13, the device IDincludes information (a header portion) “01” indicating that theidentifier is a device ID, the device ID (a data portion) “896023”, andinformation representing features of the electrical home appliance suchas whether or not a display is included (in this case, informationreading “display included”).

(3) Network Connection Sensing Unit 303

The network connection sensing unit 303 senses that the electrical homeappliance 102 has been connected to the network (connected to thegateway 103).

(4) Control Unit 304

The control unit 304 realizes functions of the electrical home appliance102 by managing and controlling the transmitting/receiving unit 301, thedevice ID retaining unit 302, and the network connection sensing unit303 described above.

1.4 Configuration of Gateway 103

Next, a detailed configuration of the gateway 103 according to the firstembodiment will be described.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of a gateway according tothe first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5, thegateway 103 includes a transmitting/receiving unit 401, a gateway IDretaining unit 402, and a control unit 403.

The gateway 103 includes a microprocessor, a RAM, a ROM, a hard disk,and the like which are not specifically illustrated. The RAM, the ROM,and the hard disk store a computer program. As the microprocessoroperates according to the computer program, functions of the gateway 103are realized.

Moreover, the respective functional blocks of the transmitting/receivingunit 401, the gateway ID retaining unit 402, and the control unit 403may be realized by an LSI that is typically an integrated circuit. Therespective functional blocks may be individually configured as singlechips. Alternatively, one or more functional blocks or a part of afunctional block may constitute a single chip.

While the term LSI has been used herein, other terms such as an IC, asystem LSI, a super LSI, or an ultra LSI may be used depending onvarying degrees of integration.

In addition, a method of circuit integration is not limited to an LSIand may be realized using a dedicated circuit or a general-purposeprocessor. An FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) that can beprogrammed after LSI production or a reconfigurable processor thatallows connection or reconfiguration of circuit cells inside an LSIafter LSI production may also be used.

Moreover, if techniques for realizing integrated circuits to replaceLSIs should emerge due to progress made in semiconductor technology ordue to derivative technology, it is obvious that the functional blocksmay be integrated using such techniques. Examples of circuit integrationtechnology which may possibly replace LSIs include an adaptation ofbiotechnology.

Finally, each functional block may be realized by software or by acombination of an LSI and software. In addition, the software may betamper resistant.

(1) Transmitting/Receiving Unit 401

The transmitting/receiving unit 401 receives, from the electrical homeappliance 102, the device ID of the electrical home appliance 102.

In addition, the transmitting/receiving unit 401 transmits the device IDreceived from the electrical home appliance 102 and the gateway IDretained by the gateway ID retaining unit 402 to the server apparatus101.

(2) Gateway ID Retaining Unit 402

The gateway ID retaining unit 402 retains an identifier (a gateway ID)for uniquely identifying the gateway 103.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a gateway ID according to thefirst embodiment. In the example shown in FIG. 14, the gateway IDincludes information (a header portion) “10” indicating that theidentifier is a gateway ID, the gateway ID (a data portion) “32456389”,and information representing features of the gateway such as whether ornot a display is included (in this case, information reading “displaynot included”).

(3) Control Unit 403

The control unit 403 realizes functions of the gateway 103 by managingand controlling the transmitting/receiving unit 401 and the gateway IDretaining unit 402 described above.

1.5 Configuration of Information Device 104

Next, a detailed configuration of the information device 104 accordingto the first embodiment will be described.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of an information deviceaccording to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown inFIG. 6, the information device 104 includes a transmitting/receivingunit 501, a display unit 502, an input accepting unit 503, and a controlunit 504.

The information device 104 includes a microprocessor, a RAM, a ROM, ahard disk, and the like which are not specifically illustrated. The RAM,the ROM, and the hard disk store a computer program. As themicroprocessor operates according to the computer program, functions ofthe information device 104 are realized.

Moreover, the respective functional blocks of the transmitting/receivingunit 501, the display unit 502, the input accepting unit 503, and thecontrol unit 504 may be realized by an LSI that is typically anintegrated circuit. The respective functional blocks may be individuallyconfigured as single chips. Alternatively, one or more functional blocksor a part of a functional block may constitute a single chip.

While the term LSI has been used herein, other terms such as an IC, asystem LSI, a super LSI, or an ultra LSI may be used depending onvarying degrees of integration.

In addition, a method of circuit integration is not limited to an LSIand may be realized using a dedicated circuit or a general-purposeprocessor. An FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) that can beprogrammed after LSI production or a reconfigurable processor thatallows connection or reconfiguration of circuit cells inside an LSIafter LSI production may also be used.

Moreover, if techniques for realizing integrated circuits to replaceLSIs should emerge due to progress made in semiconductor technology ordue to derivative technology, it is obvious that the functional blocksmay be integrated using such techniques. Examples of circuit integrationtechnology which may possibly replace LSIs include an adaptation ofbiotechnology.

Finally, each functional block may be realized by software or by acombination of an LSI and software. In addition, the software may betamper resistant.

(1) Transmitting/Receiving Unit 501

The transmitting/receiving unit 501 receives notification information tobe presented to the user from the server apparatus 101. In addition, thetransmitting/receiving unit 501 transmits input information accepted bythe input accepting unit 503 to the server apparatus 101.

(2) Display Unit 502

The display unit 502 displays a screen that presents the notificationinformation received by the transmitting/receiving unit 501 to the user.Moreover, examples of notification information to be displayed are asshown in FIGS. 10 and 11.

(3) Input Accepting Unit 503

The input accepting unit 503 accepts a response (an input) by the userto the notification information (a message) displayed by the displayunit 502.

For instance, in the example shown in FIG. 10, with respect to aconfirmation message regarding provision of log information, the inputaccepting unit 503 accepts whether the user permits provision of loginformation (“yes” in the example shown in FIG. 10) or the user does notpermit provision of log information (“no” in the example shown in FIG.10).

In addition, when a plurality of types of log information can beprovided with respect to one electrical home appliance, the inputaccepting unit 503 accepts a selection regarding whether or not loginformation is to be provided for each of the plurality of types of loginformation.

(4) Control Unit 504

The control unit 504 realizes functions of the information device 104 bymanaging and controlling the transmitting/receiving unit 501, thedisplay unit 502, and the input accepting unit 503 described above.

1.6 Operation of Information Management System

An example of an operation for confirming connection of the electricalhome appliance 102 to the network and whether log information of theelectrical home appliance 102 is to be provided will now be describedwith reference to FIGS. 15 to 19.

FIG. 15 is a first flow chart for describing an operation by theinformation management system according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention, FIG. 16 is a second flow chart for describing anoperation by the information management system according to the firstembodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 17 is a third flow chartfor describing an operation by the information management systemaccording to the first embodiment of the present invention.

First, the network connection sensing unit 303 of the electrical homeappliance 102 senses that the electrical home appliance 102 has beenconnected to the network (connected to the gateway 103) (step S1).

When connection to the network is sensed, the transmitting/receivingunit 301 transmits the device ID regained by the device ID retainingunit 302 to the gateway 103 (step S2).

Next, the transmitting/receiving unit 401 of the gateway 103 receivesthe device ID transmitted by the electrical home appliance 102 (stepS3).

Subsequently, the transmitting/receiving unit 401 transmits the receiveddevice ID and the gateway ID retained by the gateway ID retaining unit402 to the server apparatus 101 (step S4).

Next, the transmitting/receiving unit 201 of the server apparatus 101receives the device ID and the gateway ID transmitted by the gateway 103(step S5).

Subsequently, based on the received device ID and gateway ID and themanagement information retained by the management information retainingunit 202, the determining unit 204 determines whether or not anelectrical home appliance has been newly connected or, in other words,whether or not an electrical home appliance corresponding to thereceived device ID is a newly connected electrical home appliance (stepS6).

Specifically, the determining unit 204 refers to the managementinformation retained by the management information retaining unit 202and determines whether or not there is a device ID matching the receiveddevice ID among the plurality of device IDs associated with the receivedgateway ID. When there is a device ID matching the received device IDamong the plurality of device IDs associated with the received gatewayID, the determining unit 204 determines that the electrical homeappliance corresponding to the received device ID is not a newlyconnected electrical home appliance. In addition, when there is nodevice ID matching the received device ID among the plurality of deviceIDs associated with the received gateway ID, the determining unit 204determines that the electrical home appliance corresponding to thereceived device ID is a newly connected electrical home appliance.

At this point, when it is determined that an electrical home applianceis not newly connected or, in other words, when it is determined thatthe electrical home appliance corresponding to the received device ID isnot a newly connected electrical home appliance (NO in step S6), theprocess is terminated.

On the other hand, when it is determined that an electrical homeappliance is newly connected or, in other words, when it is determinedthat the electrical home appliance corresponding to the received deviceID is a newly connected electrical home appliance (YES in step S6), theupdating unit 205 updates the management information retained by themanagement information retaining unit 202 based on the received deviceID and gateway ID (step S7). In other words, the updating unit 205stores the received device ID and gateway ID in the managementinformation retaining unit 202.

Next, based on the received gateway ID and the management informationretained by the management information retaining unit 202, thedetermining unit 204 determines whether or not there is a notifiabledevice among the one or more electrical home appliances 102 orinformation devices 104 associated with the gateway 103 or, in otherwords, whether there is an electrical home appliance 102 having adisplay or an information device 104 (step S8). At this point, when itis determined that there is no electrical home appliance 102 having adisplay or information device 104 (NO in step S8), the process isterminated.

On the other hand, when it is determined that there is an electricalhome appliance 102 having a display or an information device 104 (YES instep S8), the transmitting/receiving unit 201 transmits the notificationinformation retained by the notification information retaining unit 203to the electrical home appliance 102 having a display or the informationdevice 104 (step S9). Moreover, in this case, the transmitting/receivingunit 201 transmits the notification information to the informationdevice 104. In addition, the notification information retaining unit 203may store notification information in accordance with a device ID or atype of electrical home appliance and the transmitting/receiving unit201 may read out notification information corresponding to the receiveddevice ID or notification information corresponding to the type of theelectrical home appliance that is identified by the received device IDfrom the notification information retaining unit 203.

Next, the transmitting/receiving unit 501 of the information device 104receives the notification information transmitted by the serverapparatus 101 (step S10).

Subsequently, the display unit 502 displays the received notificationinformation (step S11).

The input accepting unit 503 then accepts an input (a response) by theuser with respect to the notification information (step S12).

Next, the transmitting/receiving unit 501 transmits input information ofthe user as accepted by the input accepting unit 503 to the serverapparatus 101 (step S13). In this case, the input information includespermission information indicating whether or not log information is tobe provided.

Subsequently, the transmitting/receiving unit 201 of the serverapparatus 101 receives the input information transmitted by theinformation device 104 (step S14).

Next, the updating unit 205 updates the management information retainedby the management information retaining unit 202 in accordance with thepermission information which is included in the input information andwhich indicates whether or not log information of the user is to beprovided (step S15).

Subsequently, based on the received gateway ID and the managementinformation retained by the management information retaining unit 202,the determining unit 204 of the server apparatus 101 determines whetheror not there is an electrical home appliance that provides only a partof log information among the plurality of types of log information thatcan be provided (step S16). In other words, when an electrical homeappliance is capable of providing a plurality of types of loginformation, whether or not log information is to be provided can beindividually set for the plurality of types of log information. At thispoint, when it is determined that there is no electrical home appliancethat provides only a part of log information among the plurality oftypes of log information that can be provided (NO in step S16), theprocess is terminated.

On the other hand, when it is determined that there is an electricalhome appliance that provides only a part of log information among theplurality of types of log information that can be provided (YES in stepS16), the transmitting/receiving unit 201 transmits the notificationinformation retained by the notification information retaining unit 203to the information device 104 (step S17). As shown, thetransmitting/receiving unit 201 provides the information displayapparatus (the information device 104) with notification information forconfirming whether or not collection of log information is to bepermitted for another electrical device for which collection of at leasta part of the log information is not permitted among the one or moreelectrical devices (electrical home appliances 102).

Next, the transmitting/receiving unit 501 of the information device 104receives the notification information transmitted by the serverapparatus 101 (step S18).

Subsequently, the display unit 502 displays the received notificationinformation (step S19).

The input accepting unit 503 then accepts an input (a response) by theuser which corresponds to the notification information (step S20).

Next, the transmitting/receiving unit 501 transmits input information ofthe user as accepted by the input accepting unit 503 to the serverapparatus 101 (step S21).

Subsequently, the transmitting/receiving unit 201 of the serverapparatus 101 receives the input information transmitted by theinformation device 104 (step S22).

Next, the updating unit 205 updates the management information retainedby the management information retaining unit 202 in accordance with thepermission information which is included in the input information andwhich indicates whether or not log information of the user is to beprovided (step S23).

Moreover, when collection of log information of the one electricaldevice (the electrical home appliance 102) is permitted based on thenotification information, the transmitting/receiving unit 201 of theserver apparatus 101 transmits log collection permission informationthat permits transmission of log information to the one electricaldevice. The transmitting/receiving unit 301 of the electrical homeappliance 102 receives the log collection permission informationtransmitted by the server apparatus 101. The control unit 304 of theelectrical home appliance 102 transmits collected log information basedon the log collection permission information. Moreover, when the loginformation includes a plurality of types of log information, the logcollection permission information includes information indicatingwhether or not transmission is permitted for each of the plurality oftypes of log information.

In addition, in response to the notification information, thetransmitting/receiving unit 201 of the server apparatus 101 receivespermission information (input information) for permitting collection oflog information of the one electrical device (the electrical homeappliance 102) from the information display apparatus (the informationdevice 104) via the second network. Furthermore, based on the permissioninformation, the transmitting/receiving unit 201 of the server apparatus101 collects the log information of the one electrical device via thefirst network. Moreover, the first network and the second network may bea same network or may be networks that differ from each other.

The operation of the notification information transmitting process instep S9 in FIG. 16 and in step S17 in FIG. 17 will now be furtherdescribed.

FIG. 18 is a flow chart for describing the operation of the notificationinformation transmitting process in step S9 in FIG. 16 and in step S17in FIG. 17.

First, the selecting unit 206 of the server apparatus 101 selects allelectrical home appliances 102 with displays (notifiable electrical homeappliances 102) or information devices 104 based on the received gatewayID and the management information that is retained by the managementinformation retaining unit 202 (step S31).

Next, the transmitting/receiving unit 201 transmits the notificationinformation that is retained by the notification information retainingunit 203 to the electrical home appliance 102 or the information device104 selected by the selecting unit 206 (step S32).

In this manner, the notification information may be provided to all ofthe plurality of information display apparatuses (the electrical homeappliances 102 having displays or information devices 104).

Subsequently, another operation of the notification informationtransmitting process in step S9 in FIG. 16 and in step S17 in FIG. 17will be further described.

FIG. 19 is a flow chart for describing another operation of thenotification information transmitting process in step S9 in FIG. 16 andin step S17 in FIG. 17.

First, the selecting unit 206 of the server apparatus 101 selectsdevices whose power supply state is in an on state among electrical homeappliances 102 with displays (notifiable electrical home appliances 102)or information devices 104 based on the received gateway ID and themanagement information that is retained by the management informationretaining unit 202 (step S41).

Next, the transmitting/receiving unit 201 transmits the notificationinformation that is retained by the notification information retainingunit 203 to the electrical home appliance 102 or the information device104 selected by the selecting unit 206 (step S42).

In this manner, the transmitting/receiving unit 201 of the serverapparatus 101 acquires a power supply state indicating whether the powersupply is in an on state or an off state from a plurality of informationdisplay apparatuses (electrical home appliances 102 having displays orinformation devices 104) via the first network. Based on the acquiredpower supply state, the selecting unit 206 identifies an informationdisplay apparatus whose power supply is in an on state among theplurality of information display apparatuses. The transmitting/receivingunit 201 provides notification information to the identified informationdisplay apparatus.

Alternatively, the transmitting/receiving unit 201 of the serverapparatus 101 may acquire a power supply state indicating whether thepower supply is in an on state or an off state as well as an operationstatus indicating whether or not an operation is being performed from aplurality of information display apparatuses (electrical home appliances102 having displays or information devices 104) via the first network.In this case, based on the acquired power supply state and operationstatus, the selecting unit 206 identifies an information displayapparatus whose power supply is in an on state and which is beingoperated among the plurality of information display apparatuses. Thetransmitting/receiving unit 201 provides notification information to theidentified information display apparatus.

Moreover, while transmission and reception of log information of theelectrical home appliance 102 are not described in the first embodiment,the log information of the electrical home appliance 102 may betransmitted from the electrical home appliance 102 to the serverapparatus 101 via the gateway 103. In this case, transmission andreception of log information by the electrical home appliance 102, thegateway 103, and the server apparatus 101 may be respectively performedby the transmitting/receiving unit 201, the transmitting/receiving unit301, and the transmitting/receiving unit 401. In addition, themanagement information retaining unit 202 of the server apparatus 101may retain received log information.

Second Embodiment

2.1 Configuration of Information Management System

An information management system according to a second embodimentincludes a server apparatus 2101, an electrical home appliance 2201, agateway 2301, and the information device 104 (not illustrated) in placeof the server apparatus 101, the electrical home appliance 102, thegateway 103, and the information device 104 shown in FIG. 2.

Moreover, since a configuration of the information device 104 is similarto that of the first embodiment, a description thereof will be omitted.

2.2 Configuration of Server Apparatus 2101

Next, a detailed configuration of the server apparatus 2101 according tothe second embodiment will be described.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a configuration of a server apparatusaccording to the second embodiment of the present invention. As shown inFIG. 20, the server apparatus 2101 includes a notification informationretaining unit 203, a determining unit 204, an updating unit 205, aselecting unit 206, a transmitting/receiving unit 2102, a managementinformation retaining unit 2103, a filtering unit 2104, and a controlunit 2105.

The server apparatus 2101 includes a microprocessor, a RAM, a ROM, ahard disk, and the like which are not specifically illustrated. The RAM,the ROM, and the hard disk store a computer program. As themicroprocessor operates according to the computer program, functions ofthe server apparatus 2101 are realized.

Moreover, the respective functional blocks of the server apparatus 2101including the notification information retaining unit 203, thedetermining unit 204, the updating unit 205, the selecting unit 206, thetransmitting/receiving unit 2102, the management information retainingunit 2103, the filtering unit 2104, and the control unit 2105 may berealized by an LSI that is typically an integrated circuit. Therespective functional blocks may be individually configured as singlechips. Alternatively, one or more functional blocks or a part of afunctional block may constitute a single chip.

While the term LSI has been used herein, other terms such as an IC, asystem LSI, a super LSI, or an ultra LSI may be used depending onvarying degrees of integration.

In addition, a method of circuit integration is not limited to an LSIand may be realized using a dedicated circuit or a general-purposeprocessor. An FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) that can beprogrammed after LSI production or a reconfigurable processor thatallows connection or reconfiguration of circuit cells inside an LSIafter LSI production may also be used.

Moreover, if techniques for realizing integrated circuits to replaceLSIs should emerge due to progress made in semiconductor technology ordue to derivative technology, it is obvious that the functional blocksmay be integrated using such techniques. Examples of circuit integrationtechnology which may possibly replace LSIs include an adaptation ofbiotechnology.

Finally, each functional block may be realized by software or by acombination of an LSI and software. In addition, the software may betamper resistant.

Moreover, since configurations of the notification information retainingunit 203, the determining unit 204, the updating unit 205, and theselecting unit 206 are similar to those of the first embodiment, adescription thereof will be omitted.

(1) Transmitting/Receiving Unit 2102

The transmitting/receiving unit 2102 is equipped with the functionsincluded in the transmitting/receiving unit 201. In addition, thetransmitting/receiving unit 2102 receives log information of theelectrical home appliance 2201 from the gateway 2301.

(2) Management Information Retaining Unit 2103

The management information retaining unit 2103 is equipped with thefunctions included in the management information retaining unit 202. Inaddition, the management information retaining unit 2103 records andretains log information of the electrical home appliance 2201 receivedby the transmitting/receiving unit 2102.

(3) Filtering Unit 2104

The filtering unit 2104 selects log information to be recorded among thereceived log information based on a gateway ID and a device ID receivedby the transmitting/receiving unit 2102 and management informationretained by the management information retaining unit 2103.

FIG. 22 is a diagram for describing a selecting process of loginformation according to the second embodiment. An upper table in FIG.22 represents log information received by the server apparatus 2101 anda lower table in FIG. 22 represents log information that is actuallyrecorded by the server apparatus 2101 among the received loginformation.

For instance, in the example shown in FIG. 9, an electrical homeappliance corresponding to the device ID “896023” only permits provisionof log information related to turning a power supply on/off. Therefore,for example, as shown in FIG. 22, in a case where a date/time when powerhad been turned on, a date/time when a program on channel 4 (4 ch) hasbeen selected, a name of the program at the time of selection, adate/time when a program on channel 6 (6 ch) has been selected, a nameof the program at the time of selection, and a date/time when power hadbeen turned off are received from the electrical home appliancecorresponding to the device ID “896023”, the filtering unit 2104 onlyselects the date/time when power had been turned on and the date/timewhen power had been turned off.

In this manner, the server apparatus 2101 receives all log informationthat can be provided from the electrical home appliance 102 and selectsand stores only log information permitted by the user from all receivedlog information. In addition, the server apparatus 2101 discards loginformation other than the log information permitted by the user.

(4) Control Unit 2105

The control unit 2105 realizes functions of the server apparatus 2101 bymanaging and controlling the notification information retaining unit203, the determining unit 204, the updating unit 205, the selecting unit206, the transmitting/receiving unit 2102, the management informationretaining unit 2103, and the filtering unit 2104 described above.

2.3 Configuration of Electrical Home Appliance 2201

Next, a detailed configuration of the electrical home appliance 2201according to the second embodiment will be described.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a configuration of an electrical homeappliance according to the second embodiment of the present invention.As shown in FIG. 21, the electrical home appliance 2201 includes adevice ID retaining unit 302, a network connection sensing unit 303, atransmitting/receiving unit 2202, a log acquiring unit 2203, and acontrol unit 2204.

The electrical home appliance 2201 includes a microprocessor, a RAM, aROM, a hard disk, and the like which are not specifically illustrated.The RAM, the ROM, and the hard disk store a computer program. As themicroprocessor operates according to the computer program, functions ofthe electrical home appliance 2201 are realized.

Moreover, the respective functional blocks of the device ID retainingunit 302, the network connection sensing unit 303, thetransmitting/receiving unit 2202, the log acquiring unit 2203, and thecontrol unit 2204 may be realized by an LSI that is typically anintegrated circuit. The respective functional blocks may be individuallyconfigured as single chips. Alternatively, one or more functional blocksor a part of a functional block may constitute a single chip.

While the term LSI has been used herein, other terms such as an IC, asystem LSI, a super LSI, or an ultra LSI may be used depending onvarying degrees of integration.

In addition, a method of circuit integration is not limited to an LSIand may be realized using a dedicated circuit or a general-purposeprocessor. An FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) that can beprogrammed after LSI production or a reconfigurable processor thatallows connection or reconfiguration of circuit cells inside an LSIafter LSI production may also be used.

Moreover, if techniques for realizing integrated circuits to replaceLSIs should emerge due to progress made in semiconductor technology ordue to derivative technology, it is obvious that the functional blocksmay be integrated using such techniques. Examples of circuit integrationtechnology which may possibly replace LSIs include an adaptation ofbiotechnology.

Finally, each functional block may be realized by software or by acombination of an LSI and software. In addition, the software may betamper resistant.

Moreover, since configurations of the device ID retaining unit 302 andthe network connection sensing unit 303 are similar to those of thefirst embodiment, a description thereof will be omitted.

(1) Transmitting/Receiving Unit 2202

The transmitting/receiving unit 2202 is equipped with the functionsincluded in the transmitting/receiving unit 301. In addition, thetransmitting/receiving unit 2202 transmits log information of theelectrical home appliance 2201 to the gateway 2301.

(2) Log Acquiring Unit 2203

The log acquiring unit 2203 acquires all log information of theelectrical home appliance 2201. In this case, for example, when theelectrical home appliance is a television set, the log informationincludes a date/time when power had been turned on, a number of aselected channel, a name of a viewed program, a date/time when power hadbeen turned off, a site name of a viewed website on the Internet, a URLof the website, and a date/time when the website had been viewed.

(3) Control Unit 2204

The control unit 2204 realizes functions of the electrical homeappliance 2201 by managing and controlling the device ID retaining unit302, the network connection sensing unit 303, the transmitting/receivingunit 2202, and the log acquiring unit 2203 described above.

2.4 Configuration of Gateway 2301

Next, a configuration of the gateway 2301 according to the secondembodiment will be described by focusing only on differences from thegateway 103 according to the first embodiment. A transmitting/receivingunit of the gateway 2301 is equipped with functions included in thetransmitting/receiving unit 401 of the gateway 103. In addition, thetransmitting/receiving unit receives log information of the electricalhome appliance 2201 that is transmitted by the electrical home appliance2201.

Furthermore, the transmitting/receiving unit of the gateway 2301 is alsoequipped with a function for transmitting log information received fromthe electrical home appliance 2201 to the server apparatus 2101.

2.5 Operation of Information Management System

An example of an operation in which the electrical home appliance 2201acquires log information and the server apparatus 2101 retains theacquired log information will now be described with reference to FIG.23.

FIG. 23 is a flow chart for describing an operation by the informationmanagement system according to the second embodiment of the presentinvention.

First, the log acquiring unit 2203 of the electrical home appliance 2201acquires all log information of the electrical home appliance 2201 (stepS51).

Next, the transmitting/receiving unit 2202 transmits the log informationacquired by the log acquiring unit 2203 and the device ID retained bythe device ID retaining unit 302 to the gateway 2301 (step S52).

The transmitting/receiving unit 401 of the gateway 2301 receives the loginformation and the device ID transmitted by the electrical homeappliance 2201 (step S53).

Subsequently, the transmitting/receiving unit 401 transmits the receivedlog information and device ID and the gateway ID retained by the gatewayID retaining unit 402 to the server apparatus 2101 (step S54).

Next, the transmitting/receiving unit 2102 of the server apparatus 2101receives the log information, the device ID, and the gateway IDtransmitted by the gateway 2301 (step S55).

The filtering unit 2104 then selects log information to be recordedamong the received log information based on the log information, thedevice ID, and the gateway ID received by the transmitting/receivingunit 2102 and management information retained by the managementinformation retaining unit 2103 (step S56).

Next, the updating unit 205 stores the log information selected by thefiltering unit 2104 in the management information retaining unit 2103and updates the management information (a recording log) retained by themanagement information retaining unit 2103 (step S57).

The management information (the recording log) that is retained by themanagement information retaining unit 2103 will now be described withreference to FIG. 22. The example in FIG. 22 shows that log informationis managed per device ID and that a power supply of the electrical homeappliance corresponding to the device ID “896023” had been turned on at13:00 on Apr. 4, 2013 and turned off at 14:40 on Apr. 4, 2013. Inaddition, the example in FIG. 22 shows that the filtering unit 2104 hasselected log information to be recorded among the received loginformation, the log information related to a channel number and aprogram name is not recorded, and only log information related to apower supply state is recorded.

As shown, the server apparatus acquires all log information from theelectrical home appliance and stores only log information for whichcollection is permitted among the acquired log information. Therefore,since log information for which collection is permitted need not beselected by the electrical home appliance, there is no longer a need toperform special settings on the electrical home appliance and aconfiguration of the electrical home appliance can be simplified.

Third Embodiment

3.1 Configuration of Information Management System

An information management system according to a third embodimentincludes the server apparatus 101, an electrical home appliance 2501, agateway 2301, and the information device 104 (not illustrated) in placeof the server apparatus 101, the electrical home appliance 102, thegateway 103, and the information device 104 shown in FIG. 2.

Moreover, since configurations of the server apparatus 101 and theinformation device 104 are similar to those of the first embodiment anda configuration of the gateway 2301 is similar to that of the secondembodiment, a description thereof will be omitted.

3.2 Configuration of Electrical Home Appliance 2501

Next, a detailed configuration of the electrical home appliance 2501according to the third embodiment will be described.

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing a configuration of an electrical homeappliance according to the third embodiment of the present invention. Asshown in FIG. 24, the electrical home appliance 2501 includes a deviceID retaining unit 302, a network connection sensing unit 303, atransmitting/receiving unit 2202, a log acquiring unit 2203, a filteringunit 2502, a filtering information retaining unit 2503, and a controlunit 2504.

The electrical home appliance 2501 includes a microprocessor, a RAM, aROM, a hard disk, and the like which are not specifically illustrated.The RAM, the ROM, and the hard disk store a computer program. As themicroprocessor operates according to the computer program, functions ofthe electrical home appliance 2501 are realized.

Moreover, the respective functional blocks of the device ID retainingunit 302, the network connection sensing unit 303, thetransmitting/receiving unit 2202, the log acquiring unit 2203, thefiltering unit 2502, the filtering information retaining unit 2503, andthe control unit 2504 may be realized by an LSI that is typically anintegrated circuit. The respective functional blocks may be individuallyconfigured as single chips. Alternatively, one or more functional blocksor a part of a functional block may constitute a single chip.

While the term LSI has been used herein, other terms such as an IC, asystem LSI, a super LSI, or an ultra LSI may be used depending onvarying degrees of integration.

In addition, a method of circuit integration is not limited to an LSIand may be realized using a dedicated circuit or a general-purposeprocessor. An FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) that can beprogrammed after LSI production or a reconfigurable processor thatallows connection or reconfiguration of circuit cells inside an LSIafter LSI production may also be used.

Moreover, if techniques for realizing integrated circuits to replaceLSIs should emerge due to progress made in semiconductor technology ordue to derivative technology, it is obvious that the functional blocksmay be integrated using such techniques. Examples of circuit integrationtechnology which may possibly replace LSIs include an adaptation ofbiotechnology.

Finally, each functional block may be realized by software or by acombination of an LSI and software. In addition, the software may betamper resistant.

Moreover, since configurations of the device ID retaining unit 302 andthe network connection sensing unit 303 are similar to those of thefirst embodiment and configurations of the transmitting/receiving unit2202 and the log acquiring unit 2203 are similar to those of the secondembodiment, a description thereof will be omitted.

(1) Filtering Unit 2502

The filtering unit 2502 selects log information to be transmitted to thegateway 2301 based on the log information acquired by the log acquiringunit 2203 and filtering information retained by the filteringinformation retaining unit 2503.

(2) Filtering Information Retaining Unit 2503

The filtering information retaining unit 2503 retains and managesfiltering information indicating a provision status of log informationof the electrical home appliance.

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing an example of filtering informationaccording to the third embodiment. The example in FIG. 25 shows that thedevice ID of the electrical home appliance is “896023” and that onlyprovision of log information related to a power supply state ispermitted. In this manner, the filtering information retaining unit 2503stores filtering information that associates a device ID and a provisionstatus of log information of an electrical home appliance correspondingto the device ID with each other.

(3) Control Unit 2504

The control unit 2504 realizes functions of the electrical homeappliance 2501 by managing and controlling the device ID retaining unit302, the network connection sensing unit 303, the transmitting/receivingunit 2202, the log acquiring unit 2203, the filtering unit 2502, thefiltering information retaining unit 2503, and the control unit 2504described above.

3.3 Operation of Information Management System

An example of an operation in which the electrical home appliance 2501acquires log information and the server apparatus 101 retains theacquired log information will now be described with reference to FIG.26.

FIG. 26 is a flow chart for describing an operation by the informationmanagement system according to the third embodiment of the presentinvention.

First, the log acquiring unit 2203 of the electrical home appliance 2501acquires all log information of the electrical home appliance 2501 (stepS61).

The filtering unit 2502 selects log information to be transmitted to thegateway 2301 among the acquired log information based on the loginformation acquired by the log acquiring unit 2203 and filteringinformation retained by the filtering information retaining unit 2503(step S62).

Next, the transmitting/receiving unit 2202 transmits the log informationselected by the filtering unit 2502 and the device ID retained by thedevice ID retaining unit 302 to the gateway 2301 (step S63).

The transmitting/receiving unit 401 of the gateway 2301 receives the loginformation and the device ID transmitted by the electrical homeappliance 2501 (step S64).

Subsequently, the transmitting/receiving unit 401 transmits the receivedlog information and device ID and the gateway ID retained by the gatewayID retaining unit 402 to the server apparatus 101 (step S65).

The transmitting/receiving unit 201 of the server apparatus 101 receivesthe log information, the device ID, and the gateway ID transmitted bythe gateway 2301 (step S66).

Next, the updating unit 205 stores the log information in the managementinformation retaining unit 202 based on the log information, the deviceID, and the gateway ID received by the transmitting/receiving unit 201and updates the management information (the recording log) that isretained by the management information retaining unit 202 (step S67).

As shown, in response to the notification information, thetransmitting/receiving unit 201 of the server apparatus 101 receivespermission information for permitting collection of log information ofthe one electrical device (the electrical home appliance 2501) from theinformation display apparatus (the information device 104) via thesecond network. In addition, based on the permission information, thetransmitting/receiving unit 201 of the server apparatus 101 transmitssetting information for setting whether or not the log information ofthe one electrical device (the electrical home appliance 2501) is to becollected to the one electrical device (the electrical home appliance2501) via the first network. The transmitting/receiving unit 2202 of theelectrical home appliance 2501 receives the setting informationtransmitted by the server apparatus 101 and updates filteringinformation in accordance with the received setting information. Thetransmitting/receiving unit 201 of the server apparatus 101 receives thelog information of the one electrical device that is transmitted by theone electrical device based on the setting content via the firstnetwork.

The management information (the recording log) that is retained by themanagement information retaining unit 202 will now be described withreference to FIG. 27.

FIG. 27 is a diagram for describing an updating process of loginformation according to the third embodiment. An upper table in FIG. 27represents log information received by the server apparatus 101 and alower table in FIG. 27 represents log information that is actuallystored by the server apparatus 101 among the received log information.

The example in FIG. 27 shows that log information is managed per deviceID and that a power supply of the electrical home appliancecorresponding to the device ID “896023” had been turned on at 13:00 onApr. 4, 2013 and turned off at 14:40 on Apr. 4, 2013. In addition, theexample in FIG. 27 also shows that log information to be recorded is notselected and all received log information is to be recorded as arecording log by the server apparatus 101.

In this manner, the electrical home appliance selects only loginformation of which collection is permitted from all acquired loginformation and transmits the selected log information to the serverapparatus. Therefore, since the log information of which collection ispermitted is selected by the electrical home appliance, an amount of loginformation that is transmitted from the electrical home appliance tothe server apparatus can be reduced and a configuration of the serverapparatus can be simplified.

Moreover, while the server apparatus includes a filtering unit accordingto the second embodiment and the electrical home appliance includes afiltering unit according to the third embodiment, the present inventionis not limited thereto and the gateway may include a filtering unit.

In this case, in response to notification information, thetransmitting/receiving unit 201 of the server apparatus 101 receivespermission information for permitting collection of log information ofthe one electrical device (the electrical home appliance 102) from theinformation display apparatus (the information device 104) via thesecond network. In addition, based on the permission information, thetransmitting/receiving unit 201 of the server apparatus 101 transmitssetting information for setting whether or not the log information ofthe one electrical device (the electrical home appliance 102) is to becollected to the gateway 103 via the first network. Thetransmitting/receiving unit 401 of the gateway 103 receives the settinginformation transmitted by the server apparatus 101 and updatesfiltering information in accordance with the received settinginformation.

The transmitting/receiving unit 301 of the electrical home appliance 102transmits all log information of the electrical home appliance 2501 tothe gateway 103. The filtering unit of the gateway 103 selects loginformation to be transmitted to the server apparatus 101 among thereceived log information based on the received log information and theretained filtering information. The transmitting/receiving unit 201 ofthe server apparatus 101 receives the log information of the oneelectrical device that is transmitted by the gateway 103 based on thesetting content via the first network.

Fourth Embodiment

4.1 Configuration of Information Management System

An information management system according to a fourth embodimentincludes the server apparatus 101, the electrical home appliance 102, agateway 2901, and the information device 104 (not illustrated) in placeof the server apparatus 101, the electrical home appliance 102, thegateway 103, and the information device 104 shown in FIG. 2.

Moreover, since configurations of the server apparatus 101, theelectrical home appliance 102, and the information device 104 aresimilar to those of the first embodiment, a description thereof will beomitted.

4.2 Configuration of Gateway 2901

Next, a detailed configuration of the gateway 2901 according to thefourth embodiment will be described.

FIG. 28 is a diagram showing a configuration of a gateway according tothe fourth embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 28, thegateway 2901 includes a transmitting/receiving unit 401, a gateway IDretaining unit 402, a management information retaining unit 2902, adetermining unit 2903, a selecting unit 2904, and a control unit 2905.

The gateway 2901 includes a microprocessor, a RAM, a ROM, a hard disk,and the like which are not specifically illustrated. The RAM, the ROM,and the hard disk store a computer program. As the microprocessoroperates according to the computer program, functions of the gateway2901 are realized.

Moreover, the respective functional blocks of the transmitting/receivingunit 401, the gateway ID retaining unit 402, the management informationretaining unit 2902, the determining unit 2903, the selecting unit 2904,and the control unit 2905 may be realized by an LSI that is typically anintegrated circuit. The respective functional blocks may be individuallyconfigured as single chips. Alternatively, one or more functional blocksor a part of a functional block may constitute a single chip.

While the term LSI has been used herein, other terms such as an IC, asystem LSI, a super LSI, or an ultra LSI may be used depending onvarying degrees of integration.

In addition, a method of circuit integration is not limited to an LSIand may be realized using a dedicated circuit or a general-purposeprocessor. An FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) that can beprogrammed after LSI production or a reconfigurable processor thatallows connection or reconfiguration of circuit cells inside an LSIafter LSI production may also be used.

Moreover, if techniques for realizing integrated circuits to replaceLSIs should emerge due to progress made in semiconductor technology ordue to derivative technology, it is obvious that the functional blocksmay be integrated using such techniques. Examples of circuit integrationtechnology which may possibly replace LSIs include an adaptation ofbiotechnology.

Finally, each functional block may be realized by software or by acombination of an LSI and software. In addition, the software may betamper resistant.

Moreover, since configurations of the transmitting/receiving unit 401and the gateway ID retaining unit 402 are similar to those of the firstembodiment, a description thereof will be omitted.

(1) Management Information Retaining Unit 2902

The management information retaining unit 2902 retains and managesmanagement information such as a device ID of the electrical homeappliance 102, whether or not the electrical home appliance 102 has adisplay, whether or not the electrical home appliance 102 is providinglog information, and whether or not the current power supply state ofthe electrical home appliance 102 is an on state.

FIG. 29 is a diagram showing an example of management informationaccording to the fourth embodiment. In the example shown in FIG. 29, anelectrical home appliance corresponding to a device ID “123456”(hereinafter referred to as an electrical home appliance A) and anelectrical home appliance corresponding to a device ID “896023”(hereinafter referred to as an electrical home appliance B) areconnected. It is shown that the electrical home appliance A does nothave a display, provides log information (has permitted provision of loginformation), and a current power supply state is an on state. It isalso shown that the electrical home appliance B has a display, provideslog information (has permitted provision of log information), and acurrent power supply state is an on state.

(2) Determining Unit 2903

The determining unit 2903 determines whether or not there is anelectrical home appliance having a display or an information deviceamong the electrical home appliances and information devices connectedto the gateway 2901 based on management information retained by themanagement information retaining unit 2902.

(3) Selecting Unit 2904

When the determining unit 2903 determines that there is an electricalhome appliance having a display or an information device, the selectingunit 2904 selects all electrical home appliances having a display andinformation devices based on the management information retained by themanagement information retaining unit 2902.

Alternatively, when the determining unit 2903 determines that there isan electrical home appliance having a display or an information device,the selecting unit 2904 may select all electrical home appliances andinformation devices whose current power supply state is an on stateamong the electrical home appliances having a display and informationdevices based on the management information retained by the managementinformation retaining unit 2902.

(4) Control Unit 2905

The control unit 2905 realizes functions of the gateway 2901 by managingand controlling the transmitting/receiving unit 401, the gateway IDretaining unit 402, the management information retaining unit 2902, thedetermining unit 2903, the selecting unit 2904, and the control unit2905 described above.

4.3 Operation of Information Management System

An example of an operation for confirming connection of the electricalhome appliance 102 to the network and whether log information of theelectrical home appliance 102 is to be provided will now be describedwith reference to FIGS. 30 to 33.

FIG. 30 is a first flow chart for describing an operation by theinformation management system according to the fourth embodiment of thepresent invention, and FIG. 31 is a second flow chart for describing anoperation by the information management system according to the fourthembodiment of the present invention.

Since the operation of steps S71 to S77 in FIG. 30 is similar to theoperation of steps S1 to S7 in FIG. 15, a description thereof will beomitted. Operations of steps S78 and thereafter in FIG. 31 will bedescribed below.

The transmitting/receiving unit 201 of the server apparatus 101transmits notification information retained by the notificationinformation retaining unit 203 to the gateway 2901 (step S78).

The transmitting/receiving unit 401 of the gateway 2901 receives thenotification information transmitted by the server apparatus 101 (stepS79).

Next, based on the management information retained by the managementinformation retaining unit 2902, the determining unit 2903 determineswhether or not there is a notifiable device or, in other words, whetheror not there is an electrical home appliance 102 having a display or aninformation device 104 (step S80). At this point, when it is determinedthat there is no electrical home appliance 102 having a display orinformation device 104 (NO in step S80), the process is terminated.

On the other hand, when it is determined that there is an electricalhome appliance 102 having a display or an information device 104 (YES instep S80), the transmitting/receiving unit 401 transmits thenotification information received from the server apparatus 101 to theelectrical home appliance 102 having a display or the information device104 (step S81). Moreover, in this case, the transmitting/receiving unit401 transmits the notification information to the information device104.

Next, the transmitting/receiving unit 501 of the information device 104receives the notification information transmitted by the gateway 2901(step S82).

Subsequently, the display unit 502 displays the received notificationinformation (step S83).

The input accepting unit 503 then accepts an input (a response) by theuser with respect to the notification information (step S84).

Next, the transmitting/receiving unit 501 transmits input information ofthe user as accepted by the input accepting unit 503 to the serverapparatus 101 (step S85).

Subsequently, the transmitting/receiving unit 201 of the serverapparatus receives the input information transmitted by the informationdevice 104 (step S86).

Next, the updating unit 205 updates the management information retainedby the management information retaining unit 202 in accordance with thepermission information which is included in the input information andwhich indicates whether or not log information of the user is to beprovided (step S87).

An operation of the notification information transmitting process instep S81 in FIG. 31 will now be further described.

FIG. 32 is a flow chart for describing the operation of the notificationinformation transmitting process in step S81 in FIG. 31.

First, the selecting unit 2904 of the gateway 2901 selects allelectrical home appliances 102 with displays (notifiable electrical homeappliances 102) or information devices 104 based on the managementinformation that is retained by the management information retainingunit 2902 (step S91).

Next, the transmitting/receiving unit 401 transmits the notificationinformation received from the server apparatus 101 to the electricalhome appliance 102 or the information device 104 selected by theselecting unit 2904 (step S92).

Another operation of the notification information transmitting processin step S81 in FIG. 31 will now be further described.

FIG. 33 is a flow chart for describing another operation of thenotification information transmitting process in step S81 in FIG. 31.

First, the selecting unit 2904 of the gateway 2901 selects devices whosepower supply state is an on state among electrical home appliances 102with displays or information devices 104 based on the managementinformation that is retained by the management information retainingunit 2902 (step S101).

Next, the transmitting/receiving unit 401 transmits the notificationinformation received from the server apparatus 101 to the electricalhome appliance 102 or the information device 104 selected by theselecting unit 2904 (step S102).

In this manner, the transmitting/receiving unit 201 of the serverapparatus 101 receives, via the first network, a device ID indicatingone electrical device and an attribute ID indicating that the oneelectrical device belongs to a same owner, a same group, or a same homeas the one or more electrical devices from the gateway 103 connected tothe one electrical device. In addition, when it is determined that theone electrical device is a newly connected electrical device, thetransmitting/receiving unit 201 transmits notification information tothe gateway 103 via the second network. Furthermore, based on the deviceID indicating an information display apparatus, thetransmitting/receiving unit 401 of the gateway 2901 providesnotification information to the information display apparatus via thegateway 103, the device ID is managed by the gateway 103.

Fifth Embodiment

5.1 Configuration of Information Management System

FIG. 34 is a diagram showing a configuration of an informationmanagement system according to a fifth embodiment of the presentinvention. As shown in FIG. 34, the information management systemincludes a server apparatus 3401, an electrical home appliance 3402, andan information device 104.

In FIG. 34, the electrical home appliance 3402 and the informationdevice 104 are positioned in the home. The electrical home appliance3402 and the information device 104 are respectively connected to theserver apparatus 3401 via the network.

The electrical home appliance 3402 is, for example, an air conditioner,an AV device such as a television set, a washing machine, anillumination device, an electronic shutter, an intercom, or the like.

The electrical home appliance 3402 is connected to the server apparatus3401. The electrical home appliance 3402 transmits ID information (adevice ID) that enables each electrical home appliance 3402 to beuniquely identified or log information to the server apparatus 3401.

In addition, when a new electrical home appliance 3402 is connected tothe network, the server apparatus 3401 presents a message confirmingwhether or not provision (transmission) of log information of the newelectrical home appliance 3402 is to be permitted to the informationdevice 104 owned by the user of the new electrical home appliance 3402and receives a confirmation result by the user. When the provision oflog information is permitted, the new electrical home appliance 3402provides ID information and log information to the server apparatus3401. The server apparatus 3401 stores and manages the log informationusing a managed database (a management database).

Moreover, since a configuration of the information device 104 is similarto that of the first embodiment, a description thereof will be omitted.

5.2 Configuration of Server Apparatus 3401

Next, a detailed configuration of the server apparatus 3401 according tothe fifth embodiment will be described.

FIG. 35 is a diagram showing a configuration of a server apparatusaccording to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. As shown inFIG. 35, the server apparatus 3401 includes a transmitting/receivingunit 201, a management information retaining unit 3501, a notificationinformation retaining unit 203, a determining unit 204, an updating unit205, a selecting unit 206, and a control unit 3502.

The server apparatus 3401 includes a microprocessor, a RAM, a ROM, ahard disk, and the like which are not specifically illustrated. The RAM,the ROM, and the hard disk store a computer program. As themicroprocessor operates according to the computer program, functions ofthe server apparatus 3401 are realized.

Moreover, the respective functional blocks of the server apparatus 3401including the transmitting/receiving unit 201, the managementinformation retaining unit 3501, the notification information retainingunit 203, the determining unit 204, the updating unit 205, the selectingunit 206, and the control unit 3502 may be realized by an LSI that istypically an integrated circuit. The respective functional blocks may beindividually configured as single chips. Alternatively, one or morefunctional blocks or a part of a functional block may constitute asingle chip.

While the term LSI has been used herein, other terms such as an IC, asystem LSI, a super LSI, or an ultra LSI may be used depending onvarying degrees of integration.

In addition, a method of circuit integration is not limited to an LSIand may be realized using a dedicated circuit or a general-purposeprocessor. An FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) that can beprogrammed after LSI production or a reconfigurable processor thatallows connection or reconfiguration of circuit cells inside an LSIafter LSI production may also be used.

Moreover, if techniques for realizing integrated circuits to replaceLSIs should emerge due to progress made in semiconductor technology ordue to derivative technology, it is obvious that the functional blocksmay be integrated using such techniques. Examples of circuit integrationtechnology which may possibly replace LSIs include an adaptation ofbiotechnology.

Finally, each functional block may be realized by software or by acombination of an LSI and software. In addition, the software may betamper resistant.

Moreover, since configurations of the transmitting/receiving unit 201,the notification information retaining unit 203, the determining unit204, the updating unit 205, and the selecting unit 206 are similar tothose of the first embodiment, a description thereof will be omitted.

(1) Management Information Retaining Unit 3501

The management information retaining unit 3501 retains and managesmanagement information such as an association between an attribute IDfor identifying a group to which the electrical home appliance 3402belongs and a device ID of the electrical home appliance 3402, whetheror not the electrical home appliance 3402 has a display, whether or notthe electrical home appliance 3402 is providing log information, andwhether or not the current power supply state of the electrical homeappliance 3402 is an on state.

FIG. 37 is a diagram showing an example of management informationaccording to the fifth embodiment. In the example shown in FIG. 37, anelectrical home appliance corresponding to a device ID “123456”(hereinafter referred to as an electrical home appliance A) and anelectrical home appliance corresponding to a device ID “896023”(hereinafter referred to as an electrical home appliance B) belong to agroup represented by an attribute ID “32456389”. It is shown that theelectrical home appliance A does not have a display, provides loginformation (has permitted provision of log information), and a currentpower supply state is an on state. It is also shown that the electricalhome appliance B has a display, provides log information (has permittedprovision of log information), and a current power supply state is an onstate.

Moreover, since a provision status of the address information and thelog information retained by the management information retaining unit3501 is similar to that of the management information retaining unit 202according to the first embodiment, a description thereof will beomitted.

(2) Control Unit 3502

The control unit 3502 realizes functions of the server apparatus 3401 bymanaging and controlling the transmitting/receiving unit 201, themanagement information retaining unit 3501, the notification informationretaining unit 203, the determining unit 204, the updating unit 205, theselecting unit 206, and the control unit 3502 described above.

5.3 Configuration of Electrical Home Appliance 3402

Next, a detailed configuration of the electrical home appliance 3402according to the fifth embodiment will be described.

FIG. 36 is a diagram showing a configuration of an electrical homeappliance according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. Asshown in FIG. 36, the electrical home appliance 3402 includes atransmitting/receiving unit 301, a device ID retaining unit 302, anetwork connection sensing unit 303, an attribute ID retaining unit3601, and a control unit 3602.

The electrical home appliance 3402 includes a microprocessor, a RAM, aROM, a hard disk, and the like which are not specifically illustrated.The RAM, the ROM, and the hard disk store a computer program. As themicroprocessor operates according to the computer program, functions ofthe electrical home appliance 3402 are realized.

Moreover, the respective functional blocks of the transmitting/receivingunit 301, the device ID retaining unit 302, the network connectionsensing unit 303, the attribute ID retaining unit 3601, and the controlunit 3602 may be realized by an LSI that is typically an integratedcircuit. The respective functional blocks may be individually configuredas single chips. Alternatively, one or more functional blocks or a partof a functional block may constitute a single chip.

While the term LSI has been used herein, other terms such as an IC, asystem LSI, a super LSI, or an ultra LSI may be used depending onvarying degrees of integration.

In addition, a method of circuit integration is not limited to an LSIand may be realized using a dedicated circuit or a general-purposeprocessor. An FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) that can beprogrammed after LSI production or a reconfigurable processor thatallows connection or reconfiguration of circuit cells inside an LSIafter LSI production may also be used.

Moreover, if techniques for realizing integrated circuits to replaceLSIs should emerge due to progress made in semiconductor technology ordue to derivative technology, it is obvious that the functional blocksmay be integrated using such techniques. Examples of circuit integrationtechnology which may possibly replace LSIs include an adaptation ofbiotechnology.

Finally, each functional block may be realized by software or by acombination of an LSI and software. In addition, the software may betamper resistant.

Moreover, since configurations of the transmitting/receiving unit 301,the device ID retaining unit 302, and the network connection sensingunit 303 are similar to those of the first embodiment, a descriptionthereof will be omitted.

(1) Attribute ID Retaining Unit 3601

The attribute ID retaining unit 3601 retains an identifier (an attributeID) for uniquely identifying a home (a family), a user, a group, or thelike to which the electrical home appliance 3402 belongs. For example,the attribute ID may be a user account or a family account, a numbergenerated therefrom, or an arbitrary number assigned to each family,each user, or each group.

(2) Control Unit 3602

The control unit 3602 realizes functions of the electrical homeappliance 3402 by managing and controlling the transmitting/receivingunit 301, the device ID retaining unit 302, the network connectionsensing unit 303, the attribute ID retaining unit 3601, and the controlunit 3602 described above.

5.4 Operation of Information Management System

An example of an operation for confirming connection of the electricalhome appliance 3402 to the network and whether log information of theelectrical home appliance 3402 is to be provided will now be describedwith reference to FIGS. 38 to 41.

FIG. 38 is a first flow chart for describing an operation by theinformation management system according to the fifth embodiment of thepresent invention, and FIG. 39 is a second flow chart for describing anoperation by the information management system according to the fifthembodiment of the present invention.

First, the network connection sensing unit 303 of the electrical homeappliance 3402 senses that the electrical home appliance 3402 has beenconnected to the network (connected to the server apparatus 3401) (stepS111).

When connection to the network is sensed, the transmitting/receivingunit 301 transmits the attribute ID retained by the attribute IDretaining unit 3601 and the device ID retained by the device IDretaining unit 302 to the server apparatus 3401 (step S112).

Next, the transmitting/receiving unit 201 of the server apparatus 3401receives the attribute ID and the device ID transmitted by theelectrical home appliance 3402 (step S113).

Subsequently, based on the received attribute ID and device ID and themanagement information retained by the management information retainingunit 3501, the determining unit 204 determines whether or not anelectrical home appliance has been newly connected or, in other words,whether or not an electrical home appliance corresponding to thereceived device ID is a newly connected electrical home appliance (stepS114).

Specifically, the determining unit 204 refers to the managementinformation retained by the management information retaining unit 3501and determines whether or not there is a device ID matching the receiveddevice ID among the plurality of device IDs associated with the receivedattribute ID. When there is a device ID matching the received device IDamong the plurality of device IDs associated with the received attributeID, the determining unit 204 determines that the electrical homeappliance corresponding to the received device ID is not a newlyconnected electrical home appliance. In addition, when there is nodevice ID matching the received device ID among the plurality of deviceIDs associated with the received attribute ID, the determining unit 204determines that the electrical home appliance corresponding to thereceived device ID is a newly connected electrical home appliance.

At this point, when it is determined that an electrical home applianceis not newly connected or, in other words, when it is determined thatthe electrical home appliance corresponding to the received device ID isnot a newly connected electrical home appliance (NO in step S114), theprocess is terminated.

On the other hand, when it is determined that an electrical homeappliance is newly connected or, in other words, when it is determinedthat the electrical home appliance corresponding to the received deviceID is a newly connected electrical home appliance (YES in step S114),the updating unit 205 updates the management information retained by themanagement information retaining unit 3501 based on the receivedattribute ID and device ID (step S115).

Next, based on the received attribute ID and the management informationretained by the management information retaining unit 3501, thedetermining unit 204 determines whether or not there is a notifiabledevice among the one or more electrical home appliances 3402 orinformation devices 104 corresponding to the received attribute ID or,in other words, whether there is an electrical home appliance 3402having a display or an information device 104 (step S116). At thispoint, when it is determined that there is no electrical home appliance3402 having a display or information device 104 (NO in step S116), theprocess is terminated.

On the other hand, when it is determined that there is an electricalhome appliance 3402 having a display or an information device 104 (YESin step S116), the transmitting/receiving unit 201 transmits thenotification information retained by the notification informationretaining unit 203 to the electrical home appliance 3402 having adisplay or the information device 104 (step S117). Moreover, in thiscase, the transmitting/receiving unit 201 transmits the notificationinformation to the information device 104.

Next, the transmitting/receiving unit 501 of the information device 104receives the notification information transmitted by the serverapparatus 3401 (step S118).

Subsequently, the display unit 502 displays the received notificationinformation (step S119).

The input accepting unit 503 then accepts an input (a response) by theuser with respect to the notification information (step S120).

Next, the transmitting/receiving unit 501 transmits input information ofthe user as accepted by the input accepting unit 503 to the serverapparatus 3401 (step S121). In this case, the input information includesinformation indicating whether or not log information is to be provided.

Subsequently, the transmitting/receiving unit 201 of the serverapparatus receives the input information transmitted by the informationdevice 104 (step S122).

Next, the updating unit 205 updates the management information retainedby the management information retaining unit 3501 in accordance withpermission information which is included in the input information andwhich indicates whether or not log information of the user is to beprovided (step S123).

An operation of the notification information transmitting process instep S117 in FIG. 39 will now be further described.

FIG. 40 is a flow chart for describing the operation of the notificationinformation transmitting process in step S117 in FIG. 39.

First, the selecting unit 206 of the server apparatus 3401 selects allelectrical home appliances with displays (notifiable electrical homeappliances 3402) or information devices 104 based on the receivedattribute ID and the management information that is retained by themanagement information retaining unit 3501 (step S131).

Next, the transmitting/receiving unit 201 transmits the notificationinformation that is retained by the notification information retainingunit 203 to the electrical home appliance 3402 or the information device104 selected by the selecting unit 206 (step S132).

Another operation of the notification information transmitting processin step S117 in FIG. 39 will now be further described.

FIG. 41 is a flow chart for describing another operation of thenotification information transmitting process in step S117 in FIG. 39.

First, the selecting unit 206 of the server apparatus 3401 selectsdevices whose power supply state is in an on state among electrical homeappliances 3402 with displays (notifiable electrical home appliances3402) or information devices 104 based on the received attribute ID andthe management information that is retained by the managementinformation retaining unit 3501 (step S141).

Next, the transmitting/receiving unit 201 transmits the notificationinformation that is retained by the notification information retainingunit 203 to the electrical home appliance 3402 or the information device104 selected by the selecting unit 206 (step S142).

In this manner, the transmitting/receiving unit 201 of the serverapparatus 3401 receives a device ID and an attribute ID from the oneelectrical device (the electrical home appliance 3402) via the firstnetwork. In addition, when it is determined that the one electricaldevice is a newly connected electrical device, thetransmitting/receiving unit 201 provides the notification informationvia the second network to an information display apparatus correspondingto the attribute ID of the one electrical device using a second databasethat manages the attribute ID and the information display apparatus inassociation with each other.

The techniques described in the embodiments above may be realized by,for example, the following types of cloud services. However, the typesof cloud services that realize the techniques described in theembodiments above are not limited to the following types.

(Service Type 1: Proprietary Data Center Type Cloud Service)

FIG. 42 is a diagram showing an overview of a service that is providedby an information management system of service type 1 (a proprietarydata center type cloud service). In the present type, the serviceprovider 1020 acquires information from the group 1000 and providesservice to a user. In the present type, the service provider 1020 isequipped with functions of a data center operating company. In otherwords, the service provider 1020 owns a cloud server 1011 that managesbig data. Therefore, a data center operating company does not exist.

In the present type, the service provider 1020 operates and manages adata center (a cloud server) 2003. In addition, the service provider1020 manages an operating system (OS) 202 and an application 2001. Theservice provider 1020 provides service using the OS 2002 and theapplication 2001 managed by the service provider 1020 (an arrow 137).

(Service Type 2: Cloud Service Using IaaS)

FIG. 43 is a diagram showing an overview of a service that is providedby an information management system of service type 2 (a cloud serviceusing IaaS). In this case, IaaS stands for infrastructure as a serviceand refers to a cloud service provision model where an infrastructurefor building and running a computer system itself is provided as anInternet-based service.

In the present type, the data center operating company 1010 operates andmanages the data center (the cloud server) 2003. In addition, theservice provider 1020 manages an OS 2002 and the application 2001. Theservice provider 1020 provides service using the OS 2002 and theapplication 2001 managed by the service provider 1020 (the arrow 137).

(Service Type 3: Cloud Service Using PaaS)

FIG. 44 is a diagram showing an overview of a service that is providedby an information management system of service type 3 (a cloud serviceusing PaaS). In this case, PaaS stands for platform as a service andrefers to a cloud service provision model where a platform thatconstitutes a foundation for building and running software is providedas an Internet-based service.

In the present type, the data center operating company 1010 manages theOS 2002 and operates and manages the data center (the cloud server)2003. In addition, the service provider 1020 manages the application2001. The service provider 1020 provides service using the OS 2002managed by the data center operating company 1010 and the application2001 managed by the service provider 1020 (the arrow 137).

(Service Type 4: Cloud Service Using SaaS)

FIG. 45 is a diagram showing an overview of a service that is providedby an information management system of service type 4 (a cloud serviceusing SaaS). In this case, SaaS stands for software as a service. Thecloud service using SaaS is a cloud service provision model equippedwith, for example, a function that enables a user such as a company oran individual that does not own a data center (a cloud server) to use anapplication provided by a platform provider that owns a data center (acloud server) via a network such as the Internet.

In the present type, the data center operating company 1010 manages theapplication 2001, manages the OS 2002, and operates and manages the datacenter (the cloud server) 2003. In addition, the service provider 1020provides service using the OS 2002 and the application 2001 managed bythe data center operating company 1010 (the arrow 137).

As described above, the service provider 1020 provides service in alltypes of cloud services. In addition, for example, an OS, anapplication, a database for big data, and the like may be developedin-house or may be outsourced by the service provider or the data centeroperating company.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The information management method according to the present invention iscapable of confirming with a user as to whether or not collection of loginformation is to be permitted regardless of whether or not anelectrical device has a display or regardless of a size of a displayincluded in the electrical device and is useful as an informationmanagement method in an information management system that manages loginformation indicating usage of one or more electrical devices.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method for managing information in aninformation management system that manages information related to one ormore devices, the method comprising: receiving, via a first network, adevice ID indicating one device among the one or more devices and anattribute ID indicating that the one device belongs to a same owner, asame group, or a same home as the one or more devices, the one devicebeing equipped without a notification unit or being equipped with only asimplified notification unit; referring to a first database that managesa device which is the management target, and stores at least device IDsindicating the one or more devices and attribute IDs in association witheach other; determining whether or not a combination of the receiveddevice ID and attribute ID already exists in the first database, anddetermining that the one device belonging to the same owner, the samegroup, or the same home is not the management target when thecombination of the received device ID and attribute ID does not exist inthe first database; and when the one device belonging to the same owner,the same group, or the same home is determined not to be the managementtarget, providing, via a second network, an information providingapparatus, which is associated with the attribute ID and which differsfrom the one device, with first notification information for confirmingwhether or not the one device is determined to be the management target,receiving, from the information providing apparatus, responseinformation including information indicating whether or not the onedevice is determined to be the management target; updating the firstdatabase in accordance with the received response information; and whenthe received information indicates that the one device is determined tobe the management target, the one device is determined to be themanagement target, after updating the first database.
 2. The methodaccording to claim 1, comprising: receiving the device ID and theattribute ID from a gateway connected to the one device via the firstnetwork; and providing, when the one device is determined not to be themanagement target, the first notification information via the secondnetwork to the information providing apparatus associated with theattribute ID of the one device, using a second database that manages theattribute ID and the associated information providing apparatus.
 3. Themethod according to claim 1, comprising: receiving the device IDindicating the one device and the attribute ID indicating that the onedevice belongs to the same owner, the same group, or the same home asthe one or more devices from a gateway connected to the one device, viathe first network; transmitting the first notification information tothe gateway, via the second network, when the one device is determinednot to be the management target; and providing the first notificationinformation, via the gateway, to the information providing apparatus,based on a device ID that indicates the information providing apparatusand is managed by the gateway.
 4. The method according to claim 1,comprising: receiving the device ID and the attribute ID from the onedevice, via the first network; and providing, when the one device isdetermined not to be the management target, the first notificationinformation, via the second network, to the information providingapparatus associated with the attribute ID of the one device, using asecond database that manages the attribute ID and the associatedinformation providing apparatus.
 5. The method according to claim 1,wherein a plurality of information providing apparatuses includes theinformation providing apparatus, the method comprising: acquiring apower supply state indicating whether a power supply is in an on stateor an off state from the plurality of information providing apparatuses,via the first network; identifying an information providing apparatuswhose power supply is in the on state from among the plurality ofinformation providing apparatuses on the basis of the acquired powersupply state; and providing the first notification information to theidentified information providing apparatus.
 6. The method according toclaim 1, wherein a plurality of information providing apparatusesincludes the information providing apparatus, the method comprising:acquiring a power supply state indicating whether a power supply is inan on state or an off state and an operation status indicating whetheror not an operation is in progress from the plurality of informationproviding apparatuses, via the first network; identifying an informationproviding apparatus whose power supply is in the on state and which isin operation from among the plurality of information providingapparatuses on the basis of the acquired power supply state andoperation status; and providing the first notification information tothe identified information providing apparatus.
 7. The method accordingto claim 1, wherein a plurality of information providing apparatusesincludes the information providing apparatus, and the first notificationinformation is provided to all of the plurality of information providingapparatuses.
 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the firstnetwork is a same network as the second network.